Senators Signal Deep Skepticism with Leadership Syria Proposal

16 Sep 2014

As Senate leaders announced a proposal to lump together authorization and funding for military operations to combat Islamic State terrorists in Syria, members of both parties signaled deep disappointment.

Exiting Senate lunches, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was deeply skeptical of the decision to go to war in Syria.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Manchin said he was concerned that the United States was about to repeat the same mistakes as in Iraq in Syria.

Earlier, in a hearing with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and General Patrick Dempsy, Manchin appeared exasperated when questioning the proposed actions in Syria, pointing out that he was having difficulty explaining to his constituents why it was important to send more resources into the Middle East.

Manchin pointed out the absurdity of trying to train fighters in Syria to fight ISIS when both parties were interested in toppling Assad.

Speaking to Breitbart News, Manchin did not indicate how he would vote on the continuing resolution with war funding and authorization in Syria, but was unhappy with the decision to add the two together, calling it “absolutely unwarranted.”

Moments earlier, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated in a press conference that Republicans would likely support the CR, including the additional funding for military operations in Syria.

In response, Manchin scoffed, “That’s the easy way for them to get out of here and do nothing.”

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was also upset that Congress couldn’t hold a separate vote on the war funding.

But in spite of general skepticism with the package, it appeared that the decision was final.